A Tale Of Fuschia Village
by Dollar1
Summary: CHAP 4 finally up! In a series of quick events, Shanks winds up babysitting Ace and Luffy. However, unknownst to them, a disastor strikes Ace and Luffy's village. Will Shanks, Ace, and Luffy make it back to Fuschia Village before its too late?
1. Fuschia Moon

I, Dollar1 disclaim the ownership of One Piece

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Fuschia Moon

Shanks tipped his hat back while leaning against his throne of rum barrels, his trademark black cloak wrapped around him like a sheet of nori to a sushi. His first mate Ben Beckman sat next to him smoking whatever it was he always smoked, and silently thinking of whatever it was he always thought.

In other words, it was a pretty boring day.

Of course it wasn't always like that. It's just that today's raid hadn't been a spectacular one. It seems that the marine ship they had intercepted hours ago contained mostly laundry and uniforms instead of the usual rum and weapons. The uniforms wouldn't sell well since practically anyone could get one these days by knocking out unsuspected marines and stripping them. If it was an admiral's uniform however, the matter would have been entirely different but I digress.

After the unusual raid took place, Shanks had relayed to the crew his intentions of finding a base to "hang around and make preparations" before making their second trip into the Grand line.

While most of the Red Hair pirates inwardly questioned as to why Shanks wanted to go in the Grand line again, Ben was one that was not surprised. Shanks simply could not abide the rules of living in a peaceful area. And even if Shanks tried or forced himself to, Ben knew that Shanks would waste himself away through it, whether by alcoholic drinks or something else.

After Shanks had completed his ahem "pirate apprenticeship" at 17, Shanks had rushed off to the Grand Line after getting his own crew. As soon as Shanks came in, he became a big hit, knocking pirate ships left and right, pranking Marines, provoking duels with Mihawk, and other fun things pirates like. By the time Shanks had chosen to leave, he knew that one day he would be going back again. Because it called for him…and he liked it.

Now, speaking of things that pirates like: most of Shank's crew are on the deck drinking the rest of the rum in celebration of the Red Hair Pirates' victory over the marine ship.

Lucky Roux one of Shank's main crew members was on the bowsprit of the ship (lord only knows how he got there) silenced the crew by raising his drumstick.

And silence he got.

Lucky coughed and said in a booming voice, "Hey guys! Since this is our 100th victory against insignificant –slash- nameless pirate crews, I think we deserve a speech from our dear ol' Cap'n Shanks!"

Repeated shouts of "SPEECH!" were heard as Shanks unopened his 5th bottle of rum/sake/vermouth/drink with alcoholic content. Upon lifting it to his lips, he found himself being carried by a sea of hands towards the bow.

"Now now, whatt's this!" he yelled as his crew hoisted him on to the bow, almost throwing him off the ship. The bottle of rum however, was not so lucky as it was flung pitilessly into the ocean where it bobbed away (and ended up in the clutches of some mermen).

"SPEECH, SPEECH!" yelled the crew members once again, this time pumping their fists in unison.

Shanks rubbed the back of his head, and stared out at the crew blankly with their raised fists, "Erm, what am I supposed to say? This is routine. And plus, the ship didn't have any treasure. She was just a ship delivering some laundry to some putrid marines. Heh, but even with clean uniforms, they still stink."

Crickets chirped. Actually, since that's not possible at sea, lets revise that statement: seagulls squawked.

"Well um…" Shanks piped up after ten minutes of awkward silence except for the seagulls, "So…this was our 100th ship eh?"

"YEH!" whooped the crew. They paused, waiting for more.

…Only to find more silence awaiting them.

After five more minutes: "Er…keep up the good work, don't drink too much, and um…yeh, just do what you normally do." And with that, Shanks jumped off the bow, the crew parting to let him through harboring expressions of unease mixed with awe and a touch of fear.

Shanks stopped midway and looked around quizzically, "What? I'm a pirate captain, not a bloody marine orator! If you want entertainment, ask Lucky to dance!" And walking in a way that fanned out his cloak behind him, Shanks weaved around the crew finding his way up the crow's nest.

Cheers of "CAP'N SHANKS!" and a few of "DANCE LUCKY!" ensued.

"Well, moving on…" cut in Lucky who was most uneager to dance. He stood there above the rowdy crew, hiding his face with his drumstick to bide time while looking left and right for escape routes when luckily, something caught his attention, "Hey, isn't that land?"

"Yep, sure looks like it!" cried Yassopp popping next to Lucky. "LAND-HO ON THE STARBOARD SIDE!"

In reaction to the shouting the crew resumed their duties in preparing the ship for docking, rolling up the sails and readying the anchor to throw overboard.

"Dock her on the little harbor, over near the lamps," said Shanks swiftly appearing out of nowhere, next to the navigator.

As the ship neared the farthest dock in the little harbor, most of the crew gathered on the starboard side in order to get a good look at the town that had been spotted. Small lamps decorated each dock, each swaying from the wind. Collectively, the lamps' soft glow outlined the town not too far behind. Hanging on a large post, was a sign that read Fuschia Village. The town itself, didn't strike the crew as magnificent, but at the same time it looked friendly enough to set foot in.

After lowering the anchor at the designated port, the crew silently filed out over the ship's ladder and onto the creaking planks of the dock, Shanks in the lead.

"All we need are food provisions right now, so we'll go to the nearest bar right now and restock. Any objections?"

"No sir!" everyone else whispered loudly. It was custom for the Red Hair pirates to enter towns silently, as they didn't like to create unnecessary ruckus among towns they visited.

After five minutes of treading down the docks, the Red Hair pirates finally encountered the first bar. The name above read "Partys Bar" and it looked rather new. Of course, it is almost, always the case, when a bar is situated out in the front. Why, you ask? Because usually, these bars attracted the main brunt of the fierce traveling pirates and bandits while the older bars in the back suited the peaceful townspeople and other old-timers. Once ten years have passed, if the bar is still standing then it has passed initiation and can take a place among the older bars.

As the crew entered through the tavern doors, they were greeted with sight of people that were already there, mostly of the sketchy and slobbish vermin types. Probably bandits as they didn't smell of sea-salt. One was particularly leering at a woman who was furiously mopping tables, unaware of her assaulter. From what everyone knew, she was probably the barmaid. She was most likely in distress as some of her hair had fallen out of place and she looked like she was on the verge of crying.

"M-m-m-may, I help you?" she asked, as the pervy bandit reached out to grab her from behind.

"Ah yes, I'd like food and 10 barrels of rum!" Shanks piped up behind her, while kicking the bandit into oblivion. The bandit's friends of course, began to rise from their seats in response until Lucky Roux and some other crewmembers pushed them back down.

"Um, alright…please, seat yourselves if its no trouble." Makino replied with a straight face oblivious to all that had just happened. All the bandits sitting in the back stood in protest, they were not about to give up their seats to the new folk without a fight. Especially with what happened to their friend back there. "That Red Headed thug just got lucky, that's all." was what they all thought.

Swords and guns were drawn in a flash causing Makino gasp. The bandits had their mind set on killing Shanks, but Ben intercepted them with his long rifle. "Tell you what," Shanks said stepping out from behind Ben, "let's take this outside. I don't want the lady to have to clean up another mess."

One of the more unruly bandits responded, "The only mess here is gonna be you guys!" But before he could react, Shanks had sent a swift kick, knocking the unfortunate bandit cleanly through the swinging doors of the bar.

"Hey, I didn't know you have good aim!" exclaimed Yassop, excitedly waving his pistol.

"Ergh, that was actually just a lucky kick, aha…" Shanks sheepishly adjusting his straw hat. "But as for the rest of you," he said to the other bandits, "you won't be lucky for long, if you hang around here much longer."

As soon as he said that, the bandits muttered some incoherent curses before slowly lowering their weapons. Ben made a flicking gesture with his gun signaling them to get out, so they wouldn't get hurt.

The bandits ran out in groups of three. A couple had the audacity to get a good look at the ones who humiliated them, causing some of the crew to twitch. However, once the bandits left, everyone just laughed off the incident and collapsed onto the nearest seat.

Awhile later, when everyone was sitting and had received their food, Shanks casually twirled a spoon around his fingers and faced Makino, who was still glum at this point.

"Why the long face, miss? Those vermin aren't going to bother you any longer."

The barmaid Makino coughed and looked down, "Ah it wasn't that that was bothering me, but thank you for not causing trouble. You see, a friend of mine went to visit her sick mother in the Grand Line, so she left her two children in my care. They're usually really good kids that come back at supper, but I haven't seen them come back at all today."

Checking to make sure Shanks was still listening (in which he was), Makino paused before continuing, "I was going to go look for them, but with all the…you know, 'impatient' customers, I couldn't get out to find them. And just as I was about to clean up, well, you guys showed up— "

"Thay No Mo!" yelled Shanks, shoveling the rest of the food into his mouth and swallowing, "I'll go look for the tykes. It's the least I can do for your kind hospitality. Plus, I need to explore this town anyways!"

Ben turned his head away after hearing it and took a drag of his cigarette. To him it was all normal, Shanks always blindly offered to help people without knowing what was in store for him. Whether it was a good or bad trait, Ben couldn't judge, but hey, the woman—Makino was it? She had offered them food and drink after her closing hours, so the least they could do was look for her kids.

"Oh thank you so much!" Makino cried wiping her eyes on her apron, "Please accept the barrels of rum on the house."

Shanks patted her head, "No no, I can't do that, you just sit back and don't let the crew bother ya. In fact, they'll clean up after themselves, ain't that right boys?"

"Aye Cap'n!" droned the crew. Actually, none of the crew would have complied if Shanks hadn't been the captain (well duh) and tapping his rather sharp and pointy sword against the table. After all, if you put Shanks together with a couple bottles of rum and several pointy objects, the result was never pretty for the opposing parties.

Stepping out the front door Shanks called out, "Beckman, I'm leaving you in charge! When you're done get the crew to carry the supplies on the ships. I won't be back long hopefully."

Ben and the crew silently counted at least five minutes before the captain was seen shuffling back through the bar entrance. Giving the crew a face that clearly suggested that "When you're telling your kids about out adventures, please leave this part out…or else." Shanks turned to Makino (who had hid her face underneath a handkerchief to stifle her laughter) and smiled, "So what do the little blokes look like?"

Makino lowered the handkerchief thoughtfully, "Ah, their names are Ace and Luffy. They're brothers ages nine and six, Ace is the older one. Oh dear, I don't have pictures but they sort of look like this." Taking a pen and pad Makino scribbled out something before handing it to Shanks.

Upon looking at the paper, Shanks inwardly blanched. On the piece of paper was etched two of the most unrealistic figures he had ever seen. Stick figures to be more precise. The first one was the taller of the two and depicted a creature with black hair and a splash of dots across the lumpy looking head symbolizing a pox? Acne? Who knows? But moving on, the other figure was simply a monkey with a scribbled out tail, covered with a giant square (which Shanks assumed to be clothes).

Trying hard not to scrunch up his "suave for a pirate" facial features in frustration, Shanks muttered his thanks and backtracked out the door.

"Ok boys, I think he's out of range now!" Yassopp yelled randomly, looking out the window.

On cue everyone laughed.

"Haw haw, didya see how he'd left wifout knowin' what 'em tykes looked like?" shouted a random crew member banging his glass on the table.

"Haha! Yeh, and what was up with his face? He looked like he ate a bucket of beans or something!" yelled the random girl of the crew.

Even Ben couldn't help but smile. Shanks was most amusing this way.

Suddenly, without warning, the laughter ceased. Even Lucky Roux put down his drumstick. Curious as to what had stopped all the laughing Ben peered around Lucky's body just in time to see Shanks walk in again.

"Almost, forgot my hat." he explained, only to be met by blank stares of his crew, "Hey, what's wrong with you all?"

Indeed, it was quite a sight as most of the crew had stuffed food in their maw to muffle the laughter. A couple were already on the verge of choking even. Shanks just shrugged his shoulders, put on his hat, and walked out. As he distanced himself from the bar, Shanks heard the laughter levels in the bar rise again. Pulling down his hat he smirked, "Ah, let 'em have their fun."

Making his way around the streets, Shanks spent about an hour or two wandering before silently cursing himself for not bringing a navigator along. The illuminated houses along the paths, although marked with street signs, all looked the same to him, limiting his searching even further. Asking for directions was out of the question as mothers had already ushered children inside upon seeing him. Of course he didn't blame them being a pirate and all, but a little guidance would have been nice.

Rounding the corner at a beige house that he had sworn to see five times already, Shanks finally decided to retrace his steps back to Party's and start over. Judging by the dark sky and the position of the moon, it was probably midnight by now. Maybe if he ran, he would reach the bar in no time, provided that he didn't have make any detours.

Cursing under his breath, Shanks broke into a swift jog to the end of the street. If he could just find the edge of town, he could just make a huge circle to the docks and to the bar. However, his insides felt a pang of guilt as he thought of how everyone would react when he came back empty-handed.

"Crap, but I can't just come back without the kids. Makino would probably burst out crying. And she'd probably retract her statement of giving us free rum. Aw, think damnit, what would Yassopp think in this situation?" After all, Yassopp was the one who had the most experience with kids in his crew.

Shanks's mind conveyed his thoughts into a chibi version of Yassopp as he slowed his jog into a stop.

The mini Yassopp scratched his head with his chibi pistol, "What would I do in this situation?"

There was a pause before the mini Yassopp suddenly firing his pistol into the air, his expression morphing into one of utter repulsiveness, "NOTHING! Because MY SON Usopp would never do such a thing!"

Shanks cracked his knuckles and slumped in frustration, as the mini Yasopp vanished. He had unfortunately become hungry again, and on top of that, Yassopp's would be advice wasn't getting him anywhere. But no matter. The small mission he was sent had somehow stirred up some kind of flame in him that was lost when he had left the Grand Line years ago. And hell, if wasn't able to find those two kids, what made him think that the Grand Line would let him re-enter?

"I'm gonna find me those buggers if it's the last thing I do! Navigator or no!"

So, turning his heels Shanks sprinted off into the direction full of jumbled streets and alleyways, his cloak lashing out from a new set of winds coming from the east.


	2. Punch Bloody

Thank you reviewers, for the feedback. You're awesome, all of you.

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Punch Bloody

Near a fair distance from Party's, a boy wandered alone. He wasn't doing much. An hour ago, the little boy had been chasing a butterfly, but now he had lost interest. They little boy wasn't really thinking about much either. He missed his mother (and her home cooked meals) a little but didn't want to show it for fear that his older brother would tease him.

All he did for the past couple of days was spar with his older brother, take walks, and look at fishes in the water. Actually, it was what he always did, regardless if his mother was there or not. The little boy didn't even look like he had a notion of what he was going to be when he grew. All he knew was that one day, he would get off the island and do something. Something great. Because great things are exciting, unlike what he was doing now.

Now it just so happened that the group of bandits who were thrown out of Party's by Shanks were wandering near the vicinity, when they had spotted the little boy down the road kicking rocks.

Approaching him, a lone bandit (the one that tried to grope Makino) walked into his path purposely tripping him. The unaware of the surprise attack immediately fell. The rest of the bandits nearby laughed and edged closer once the boy was down. But, as the thug was about to put his foot into the boy's groin, the boy rolled over on his side and sprang on top of the man, digging his pearly whites into his arm, propelling both forward.

This caused the bandit to scream and jerk his arm, flinging the boy into a pile of barrels.

"Hawhaw!" laughed some of the bandits, "beaten by a kid, whaddya have to say for yourself Picky!"

"Shaddup!" yelled the bandit Picky, nursing his arm, "Oww…dat one's got a bite like a mershark!"

Struggling out of the pile of barrels, the boy stood up with a bloody nose and clenched fists roaring, "WHY DID YOU DO THAT? WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU WANT!"

The bandits laughed again. "He asks us what we wants! Tell 'em Picky!"

Picky stepped forward with a stupid grin on his face, unsheathing his knife. His lanky features coupled with a slimy face gave him a hideous look in the moonlight. "Oh I'll tell alright, ya little brat! You see, I would have had my way with that pretty gal Makino, if this stupid red-headed bum hadn't shown up!"

Inching closer, a look of recognition dawned on the boy's face, "I don't know about anything about a redhead, but I remember you. You're that bandit, Makino slapped you a couple days ago for touching her wrong area."

Picky snarled trying to usher the unhappy memory from his mind, "Heh, well the thing is, if we have you brat, Makino couldn't possibly refuse me. Unless she'd like to see me slit your bratty lil throat in front of her. Poor woman, I bet she's horribly frightened of bloodshed. So be a good boy, and come with us quietly, haha!"

The little boy sniffed angrily, lifting his head to look at the Picky's, but then looking back at his feet to avoid looking at Picky's hideous face. "Makino was the one who pounded your face bloody, stupid, so she CAN'T BE SCARED OF BLOOD, you stupid bandit!"

The bandits burst into cahoots of laughter, but Picky was ticked off.

"Why you little shithead," grasping his knife, he lunged toward the pile of barrels where the boy stood, "why don't you say that to my face!"

"Eat this, you stupid bandit!" In response, the boy had thrown one of the smaller empty barrels at Picky's face, breaking his noise.

"MMPRGHHH! GET THAT LIL SHIT!" cried Picky in pain. Hearing those words, the bandits immediately drew their arms, content that there was something to kill. Of course, little boys weren't as fun as grown men, but they squirmed much more, which was a plus at certain times.

Most of them dodged the onslaught of barrel projectiles and rushed straight towards the little boy. Although he was surprised, the boy managed to jump off the pile and on to the floor, using a couple bandits as stepping stones. The bandits leading the rush weren't too lucky as they toppled with a resounding crash, into the pile knocking themselves out.

"You'll PAY for that too!" cried a stout bandit, pointing a short sword at the little boy, who was now in a light fighting stance with his little fists raised.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE!" yelled Picky, at the sides clutching at his nose , "CAPTURE HIM! CUT OFF HIS ARMS AND LEGS!"

"Yarr, CHARGEEEE!"

"Huh, what's that noise?" Shanks stopped his mad dashing, skidding to a halt. He thought he had just heard someone shouting behind some building. Treading quietly, he poked his head from around some boxes, observing the designated area. Indeed, there had been trouble, as there were barrel bits strewn all over the floor, some men unconscious, and another 20 with weapons cornering a little boy. A man on the sides, presumably the leader, was yelling statements of "CAPTURE THE BRAT!" and "CUT OFF HIS LEGS SO HE CAN'T escape!"

Despite his situation, the little boy actually felt lighter on the inside. He rarely got the chance to fight, accept against his older brother (ending him up with all losses), but you know what they say. Improvement comes with each battle.

Shanks, was about to intervene, seeing a bandit throw a wild slash at the boy, but he backed down, seeing that the little boy had dodged and thrown a punch to the face. A man's fight, is a man's fight, so Shanks perched on his box, analyzing (and enjoying) the fight. The punch that the little boy had thrown to the bandit's face had been slow in Shanks's opinion, but apparently fast in the eyes of the weaker bandits.

The little boy constantly punched, ducked, and weaved between the legs of the bandits. They had been afraid to use their weapons, in fear of accidentally hitting each other. Shanks grinned in the shadows. "That kid, he has a natural fighter's instinct. Close combat is his forte it seems. Well that's pretty obvious, since his punching range is pretty small. And although, he's taken some hard hits, he's doing pretty well out there."

However, despite his fighter's instinct, the boy had made the mistake of weaving in, too far into the group of bandits. In short, he became tightly surrounded, his fists useless.

"STOP!" Picky yelled, pushing his way into the inner circle. Sheathing his knife, he paused, pulling out a beautiful, silver revolver. "He's mine!"

The others backed off after giving the little boy some kicks and punches. The little boy looked with awe at the beautifully crafted weapon, taking the feebly thrown kicks and punches. Seeing the look in the little boy's eyes, Picky asked, "Like her? She costed 10,000 berri. You get the honor of being her first target Yahaha!"

The bandits laughed, finally they would get to see some action. Picky continued, "Now what will it be, an arm or a leg?"

Shanks, on his box, gave a bored look, picking his ear, "What, it's over already? Ah well." Shouldering his katana and stretching his legs out, Shanks decided that this was the right time to step in.

Just as Picky was about to cock and pull the trigger, a shadow swiftly zoomed across the crowd. At least eight of the bandits had ended up on the ground, after being knocked to ground by an unseen shadow.

"WHA—WHERE DID HE GO?" yelled Picky, turning to the spot that the little boy had previously been. Picky waved the gun, only to find it sliced in two. His face turning red from anger, he yelled out more orders, "FIND HIM, HE COULDN'T HAVE GONE FAR!"

As some of the bandits scuttled left and right in search of the boy, the moonlight fell overhead, illuminating a figure on a roof.

"Heh, picking on children now, bandit?" Shanks called out from a top of a small building, the little boy peering out from behind his legs. "Well, no matter, he was doing a fine job whipping you guys anyway…"

At the sight of Shanks, Picky and rest of the bandits froze. It was that redhead again! But this time he didn't have his crew with him, so the self confidence of the bandits rose. So the redhead can move swift as a shadow, but that didn't matter to the bandits as they outnumbered him.

"HEY! WHY DON'T YOU COME DOWN HERE AND FACE US LIKE A REAL MAN!" yelled the rogues in unison, drawing their weapons again.

Shanks grinned, "So you want to fight huh? Well, since I was bored watching you guys get whipped by a kid, sure why the hell not? In fact, I bet I could beat you all up before touching the ground!"

Before the bandits could respond, Shanks seemed to have disappeared, only the blade of his katana flashing and leaving marks, causing the bandits to drop like flies. Apparently, none were a match for him, as they couldn't even see his attacks coming. A few minutes later, only Picky was left, sitting on his rump, cowering in fear. "M…mercy!" he squeaked.

"Mercy?" Shanks's voiced lowered, grabbing the trembling man by the shirt collar and pressing the katana to his throat, "You want mercy, after hurting a kid and threatening a simple barmaid?"

"Ah let him go mister, can't you see he's beaten?" They boy had climbed down the roof in haste when Shanks was dealing the bandits. "Besides, he's probably a bandit because he robs unsuspecting natives of their stuff! And plus, Makino and I can kick his ass anytime."

Throwing the bandit roughly to the ground, Shanks sheathed his katana. "You should thank the kid, for sparing your life. Go on!"

Prodding by Shanks's foot the crumpled heap on the ground, Picky whimpered towards the direction of the little boy, "Thank 'e for sparing me."

Feeling satisfied, Shanks called out to the rest of the bandits who were now conscious and moaning from pain, "You've got 10 seconds, to get out o' here before my sword starts to dance!"

"And as for you" Shanks turned to Picky who desperately trying to scramble away on all fours, "if I hear that you've bothered Makino or this boy, I'll let you choose which arm and leg you want to keep."

Once the scene had been cleared, Shanks turned to the little boy who, stood staring at him, a bruise starting to form on his face. "Hey there mate, you all right?"

The little boy harrumphed, and shuffled over to Shanks, "I could have taken them all! You didn't have to butt in!"

Shanks smiled, "Of course, but next time, try covering your back to wall instead of barreling into the center of their rush. Keeps it cleaner you know?"

The little boy pouted at Shanks putting his hands on his hips, "Say, who are you anyway? I haven't seen you in this town before. And yet, you interrupt my fight, and now you're giving me advice? What if YOU'RE with some other bandits?"

Shanks chuckled, "Well, you got me there. Only I'm not a bandit. I'm a pirate. I was the redhead those scumbags mentioned back there."

The boy tilted his head, "What? They said something?"

Shanks sweatdropped. Although this boy possessed a natural fighters' instinct, he appeared to be a bit slow in the head. "Nevermind, Makino sent me to find someone," Shanks said, as he pulled out the paper with Makino's scribbles. "Only problem is, I don't think her pictures are accurate, so I only have the names. Ace and Luffy was it?"

The boy took the paper and took a hard long squint at it in the moonlight. Suddenly his face changed, "HEY! THAT'S ME! Well, sort of, I don't look this ugly in real life."

Shanks snatched back the paper and took a look at it. "What? Really?" Looking back and the boy and then the paper Shanks shrugged, "Well you do, sorta look like a monkey…"

"Hey, shut up Mr. Pirate!" cried Luffy stomping his foot.

Shanks replied poking Luffy in the chest, "It's Shanks. And its not Mr. Pirate, its Captain!"

"Heh, I bet a monkey would make a better captain than you!"

"Oh yeh? Are you talking about yourself?"

"YEAH!"

"So you ARE a monkey!"

Both of them glared at each other fiercely before dissolving into fits of laughter. How they didn't wake up the neighbors, nobody knew. But it was good that they were on the same level.

After a few seconds recollecting themselves, Shanks said to Luffy, "Well come on, we better get to Party's. How come you're up so late anyway?"

Luffy started walking puffing his chest out proudly, "Dunno, Makino was busy so I went out to play. I fell asleep somewhere and after I woke up, went back to Makino's for a bit and ate meat. Then I went out to play again, and then I fell asleep. After I awoke, I took a walk around, before the bandits showed up. Of course I saw them following me. I even let them trip me so they could get a head start."

Shanks chuckled at Luffy's story. He continued to walk behind Luffy (who thankfully knew his way around the village).

Suddenly Shanks stopped, "Hey, what about your brother?"

"Oh Ace? Don't worry about him, he can take care of himself, he's a better fighter than me!"

"No no, I can't, I promised Makino. Since you're tired, we'll stop at Party's first. She'll be glad that you're back at least."

"Who said I was tired!" cried Luffy, stifling an urge to yawn. "I'm old enough to stay up late. We don't need to go back to Party's! I'll help you find Ace! I know all the places where he hangs out!"

Shanks stood still, weighing his options for a moment, "So this kid doesn't wanna go to sleep huh? But Makino would be a little eased if I brought Luffy back. On the other hand, Luffy would know where Ace is, plus, he knows this town well."

After a moment of careful consideration, Shanks finally said aloud, "Alright, we'll look for your brother. But make it quick alright? I don't want Makino to kick me bloody or something horrible like that."

Luffy grinned, "Sure thing, but you better keep up, Cap'n Shanks!" And with that, Luffy rushed off into the west, with Shanks keeping close behind."

Somewhere, north of the area where the brawl had taken place, Picky and his bandit gang had stopped to recuperate and catch their breaths. After the humiliation they had been through, Picky had been rather furious, but not wanting to anger the rest of the crew, he kept his mouth shut.

Bladd, one of Picky's crew, boldly asked, "So what should we do now?"

Picky in response, slapped Bladd with the flat of his knife blade, raising a bump on his head. "What do you think scumbag? We're going to go launch a surprise attack on that bastard Redhead after we get ourselves together!"

Most of the bandits, recoiled inwardly at the thought. After all, it had been the second time today, that they had been whipped. And by the same people too. But since Picky was the strongest in the group, no one argued.

As the self-proclaimed leader of the bandits went on to reveal his plans concerning Shanks, several unnoticed shadows emerged to the left of the area, behind the nearest house. They appeared to be listening and discussing something in hoarse whispers at the same time.

"We only need one, kill the rest."

"Alright, Tatchi, you get rid of the bodies."

"Fine, fine, but why do I always have to do that crap?"

"Um, you are the strongest out of all of us?"

"Oh, why thank you."

"—and so we'll ambush him when he walks out of Party's." finished Picky. There were murmurs of agreement within the group. "We'll put the plan into action, in the morning. For now, get the supplies and lay low."

"Yes, si—AHHhhhhh!"

Just as bandit group was about to disperse, a scream was roughly emitted by the back of the group. Apparently, the shadows from before had attacked Picky's group, starting with the stragglers. The plan abandoned, bandits scattered in all different directions, eager to get far away from the slaughter as possible. However, as the shadows were swift, most did not escape.

Picky, who had taken the whole thing in shock, sank on to his shaking knees. He had just witnessed three shadows slaughter the group with no mercy. Falling onto his shaking knees, he watched Bladd scream with wide-eyes as he was run through by a figure that seemed to have many arms. Taken out of his trance by a spray of blood, he looked up in time just to see two figures loom over him.

"Don't worry about your friends, Tatchi, will get them." the nearer one sniggered.

"W-ho are you? What do you want? DON'T HURT ME!" Picky scrambled back a few steps before the other figure, gripped his shirt and lurched him back forward.

"Quiet! Don't wanna go waking up the townsfolk now, or you're really gonna get it." Tapping a blade against, Picky's throat, the figure continued, "We're taking you back to our Cap'n, so get a move on, before I slice off yer tongue!"

Picky nodded in fear, as the figure lurched him to his feet. The other figure looked away in disgust.

"Ugh, looks like he wet himself. Quick lets leave before someone wakes and sees! Tatchi can pick up our trails."

Picky bit his lip, trying not to cry out, as the two large figures escorted him roughly, through the street, which had been covered in blood.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Party's, Shanks's crew had been less rowdier than usual. Makino had slightly been in much higher spirits, after Shanks had offered to find Luffy and Ace. Ben Beckman had occupied Shanks's empty seat, keeping an eye on the rest of the crew. On a table near the bar counter, Yasopp and Lucky were still busy eating and drinking, laughing at some random crew member's joke.

Suddenly, Lucky lifted his head up from his drumstick, "Hey Ben, say, shouldn't Shanks be back by now? I mean, it doesn't usually take this long to bring back a couple of whippersnappers."

Beckman sighed as Makino dropped a plate in response. "W-h-hat? Well, shouldn't you guys be looking for him? What if he's in trouble?"

The random girl of the crew, who I shall now refer to as Nettles, helped Makino pick up the pieces, "Don't fret marm, Cap'n will be back, right Mr. Beckman?"

Ben, took his cigarette out of his mouth, "Right Nettles. So don't worry, Makino, everything will be alright. You'll get those kids back."

Makino threw the plate shards into the garbage. "Stay calm," Makino thought, "Shanks will be back with Ace and Luffy. Plus, Ben doesn't look like one to tease." After counting to ten and taking deep breaths, Makino returned to washing glasses.

Yasopp who had finished drinking and eating, waved his pistol and juggling a pack of cards, "Hey, anyone wanna play Spit? I'll throw in 400 berri for the winner!"

Immediately, most of crew sitting at the tables got up and filed out the door, muttering something about "catching 40 winks" or that they "forgot something on the ship". Yasopp looking insulted yelled out to the crewmembers that were rushing away, "CHICKENS! ALL OF YOU!"

Makino looked bewildered, "What happened? What's the matter?"

Ben, took a drag of his cigarette, "Oh its nothing important. You know the card game Spit? At the end of a round, when you try to slap the pile with the least amount of cards quickest? Well Yasopp here, prefers to shoot it. And he never misses. Shanks was the only one who ever beat him. And he didn't get any holes in his hands either."

Nettles looked on with surprise, "Really? I thought anyone with a shred of sense would never play Spit against Yasopp."

Lucky Roo in turn, looked at Nettles with mock surprise, "Really? And I thought that everyone here with a shred o' sense would know that the Cap'n doesn't have a shred of sense."

"I'm still here you know…" replied Yasopp.

Everyone laughed. It lightened up the mood a little. Makino walked over to Lucky Roo's table and poured a little more rum into Yasopp's glass, "It's alright Mr. Yasopp, I'm sure they didn't mean to insult the way you play Spit."

"Damn right…" muttered Yasopp downing his glass, "Slapping card piles are for girls. Real men play Spit with guns."

Ben, glanced at the clock in the corner of the bar room. 2:17 it read. Standing up, Ben called to the rest of the crew that hadn't been scared away by Yasopp, "Everyone, take the barrels of rum and the packed provisions back to the ship, it's getting late."

"Aye, Beckman." Chairs shuffled, as the remaining crew members carried the parcels, and shouldered the barrels.

Makino glanced worryingly at Ben wringing her hands, "But what about you Captain? And the boys?"

Beckman gave her a reassuring smile, "It's alright, I'll stay until Shanks comes back with the boys." Turning to Yasopp and Lucky who were also shouldering barrels, Ben said, "You guys are in charge of the ship, I'm gonna wait for Cap'n Shanks and the boys with Makino. Don't set fire to the ship now."

Yasopp gave Ben a hearty slap on the back with his free hand, "Of course we won't. Who do you think we are, Marines?" Laughing at his own joke that partially didn't make sense, Yasopp walked out the exit, Lucky and Nettles following, shaking their heads.

"Oh thank you so much for staying Mr. Beckman." said Makino, wiping of the sweat from her forehead, "I'm sure the boys will be fine in Shanks's care."

Ben resumed sitting in his seat looking out the window, "Of course Makino, its what he would have wanted. Although I'm not sure what kind of baby-sitter he'll turn out to be. I've hardly seen him with kids."


	3. Cozy Cove

A/N: I know this fic is dragging, but thanks to those that stick with it. Again, thank you dear reviewers.

* * *

Cryptic Cove 

Picky half walked, half dragged his feet, leading his "escorts" to the edge of the town, near the harbor. As ten minutes passed by, he heard another set of feet join them. Trying to get a better look at the figures, Picky turned only to have the front two shove him forward.

"Keep walking."

Stifling a whimper, Picky plowed on painfully while the three figures conversed.

"So Tatchi, did you have fun?"

"Yep, it's nice stretch my arms once in a while."

"Heh, well that's good. Pretty soon, we'll all get our turn…"

Picky tried to block out their conversation. It had been obvious, even for someone as stupid as him, that these figures were planning to do something to the town, something horrible. Reaching the corner of the town, the path turned left. Not too far away, was an unoccupied lighthouse, and the first dock. Picky stopped.

"What'erya stopping for, MOVE IT, before I gut ya!"

Picky squeaked and rushed onto the dock. Attached to one of the wooden pillars was a small rowboat, probably big enough for two. One of the black figures shoved Picky in it, as he was examining it.

After seeing stars, Picky raised his head in pain toward the sky just in time as the figures unbound the cord from the wooden pillar and slip into the water.

"Who are they?" thought Picky, rubbing his head. But he didn't have time to think when he felt the boat being dragged out into the ocean. Whoever they were, they were pretty strong and not to be messed with. Giving up any thought of escape, Picky slumped down in the boat.

After a half a mile or so of being pulled to sea, the cord started to pull taut in another direction, towing the boat left. There, out in the distance was a dark cloud. Only it wasn't a cloud but a cliff surrounded by rocks. Upon being pulled closer, Picky saw, that it was not just rocks, but a small cove, overshadowed by the large cliff. The figures seemed to know what they were doing as they weaved the boat around the rocks blocking the tiny entrance.

After a good ten minutes of maneuvering, the cord relaxed and the boat went into a sudden halt, the waves, isolating the boat on some rocks. The three figures leaped out of the water, landing silently on the rocks. Water collected in pools around their feet, as the shadows dragged the boat further inland. After securing the rope to a nearby rock, the front shadows proceeded to move inward, closer to the cove. Picky could see a faint light emanating to the far right of the cliff, near the center. "How did that get here?" he thought, but was suddenly interrupted by the third figure, who had grabbed him roughly, and tossed him off the boat.

"YOWCH!" cried Picky, landing on his bottom. However, he was too afraid of what would happen, if he had said anything further. After watching what the three figures were capable of doing, Picky chose to shut his mouth.

"Aw, shut up and get moving!" the figure scowled. The two figures had reached the base of the left side of the cliff and seemed to be moving upward in thin air. Upon moving closer though, Picky saw that there was a cleverly disguised ledge, winding around the outside of the cliff that eventually stopped at where the light was emanating from.

Shuffling around the ledge, Picky whimpered as the ledge began to rise higher and thinner. However, the figure he was with, kept a rather tight grip on him, so he had nothing really to worry about…yet.

The light, upon being reached, revealed a cave entrance. Stepping inside, Picky felt water dripping off rocks, and the sea splashing underground. Although it was dark, the figures seemed to know where they were going as they escorted him deeper into the cave.

As 15 more minutes passed, Picky spotted the glow of another light, emanating from a tall pillar. When they finally reached the light, Picky gave a gasp, while the other figures sniggered.

They had reached another ledge, which had lengthened into a large cavern. Below the ledge, was a lake of water brought in by the ocean. In the middle of the lake, were three ships, most likely galleons from the large size. The glowing pillar Picky had seen was a mast. The galleons were bustling with dark figures rushing around on the deck. Apparently, the cavern had more than one entrance, and judging by the galleons, it was a big one. However, Picky could not find it, as he looked around.

Still in awe of the giant ships, Picky had no time to scream as a figure had grabbed him, and sprang off the ledge, toward the ships. Picky merely opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Since the lake was vast in diameter, Picky thought that the figure would not make it until he felt an impact accompanied by a thud, causing him to slightly lose consciousness. The other two followed close behind, making equally heavy thuds, as they all landed on the largest galleon. The figures on the ship stopped scurrying around at the sounds, and rushed to the figures.

"Hey, Kuromaru, Fuu, Tatchi! Back already! What did ya bring? Is it food?" cried some of the figures pointing at the semi-unconscious Picky, who was still being gripped by the one called Kuromaru.

"Yarr, GET OUT OF THE WAY! This is a puny human the boss asked us to bring back, so we'd know all about that town!" Sweeping everyone away, Kuromaru dragged Picky towards the main cabin as Fuu and Tatchi followed behind. The rest of the figures followed curiously.

Kuromaru pounded on the door. "Come in." rasped a low voice. Opening the door, Kuromaru, Fuu, Tatchi, and the rest flooded in, filling in the ample space around the cabin. The walls were decorated with skulls and weapons. In the middle of the room was a large chair where the voice had come from. There was also a table filled with books and maps.

"So, this is the filthy human, that you chose to guide us?" the voice rasped gesturing at Picky, "He doesn't seem like much, but I guess he'll do for now. I trust there were no problems with the villagers?"

"Nope." exclaimed Kuromaru tossing Picky on the ground in front of the large chair. "All asleep. They didn't even post sentries." The fall seemed to have thrown Picky out of his unconsciousness, as he sat up and rubbed his head.

"Good…just in time." the voice rasped menacingly, with a hint of pleasure in it. The figures around all cackled in delight.

As Picky rubbed his eyes, the stars surrounding them, dispersing, he glimpsed a rather large figure, getting up from his seat and stepping into the light. His three captors, who were next to the large figure disrobed, and followed him.

What Picky saw next, sent him back to unconsciousness, as a pair of claw like arms reached out, grasping his throat, the figures all around cackling with glee. Picky wanted to scream, but again, his throat would not permit it, as his eyes bulged at the figures around them. They all had a blue tinge to their skin, some of their body parts were warped horribly. His captors were no different. All three had the same blue tinged skin. However, the one they called Kuromaru had large fins protruding from his bulky arms. Fuu next to him, evidently a female, had a sunken face with large lips poking out from under a mess of long blonde, tangled hair. Tatchi, well he had six arms, all covered with suction cups, and his mouth was shaped like a trumpet. His head had white spike-like things, jutting out of his head. They were all mermen.

But of course they were nothing compared to the one that had a grip on him. He was twice as large as them, with saw-like teeth and small yellow eyes. The sight of his ferociousness caused Picky to wet himself again, as the mermen all around jeered at him. The one holding him, smiled a nasty smile revealing all his teeth. "Welcome…to the Cove of Sarlong, Future Emperor of all East Blue!"

And with that, Picky fainted, whilst the mermen roared and cheered.

* * *

Meanwhile, Luffy had just led Shanks toward the back of the town. The running in combination with lack of sleep was starting to wear the little boy down, but he continued nonetheless. This caused Shanks, who had been behind him all the time, to slightly regret his decision of not leaving Luffy at Party's. However, his thoughts were cut short, when Luffy abruptly stopped. 

"Well, I guess he's at his limit." Shanks thought. However, he had misinterpreted, as Luffy had stopped, not because of fatigue, but because there was nowhere to go.

Outside of town, Luffy had taken him through a small field, a small patch of woods, and over a hill, outlined by a layer of willows. The hill, as Shanks had described it, wasn't really a hill, but a ledge, jutting slightly forward.

Peering over the edge, Shanks glimpsed a large sandy area, forming some sort of natural bridge to another large piece of land. On closer inspection, it was a strait, with a thin land bridge connecting the two pieces of land; the marshy look had mainly resulted from the slightly rising water levels. The land across was rather dark, and covered by a blanket of large trees. Lining the banks were arrays of jagged, sharp rocks and stray roots of trees that had nowhere to cling. Overall, the place looked rather ominous, even in the moonlight. Who even knows what lies beyond those dark woods across the bridge of land?

Looking at Luffy skeptically, Shanks spoke up, "Hey are you sure this is the right place? This place sure doesn't look like somewhere kids like you should be hanging around. And how the hell does your brother get to the other side anyway? I don't even see a path."

Luffy stretched his arms, putting them behind his head, "Are you kidding? This place has lots of good places to hide treasure. And Ace fishes here all the time from the other side." Gesturing with his right hand, Luffy pointed at a patch of dark land, that was incidentally covered with less trees.

"But Luffy, I don't see anyone there…" Shanks replied scratching his head, "are you sure, he's around here somewhere?"

"Yup, he should be around, sleeping in the hiding places probably," replied Luffy with a smirk. "We could always go down ya know, that is unless you're afraid of heights…captain."

Shanks grinned, "Cheeky kid," he thought, "but he does have a hint of the adventuring spirit."

As the wind stopped blowing, Luffy left his spot to search for something. "Hm…its pretty dark even with the moonlight, I can't see the path damnit!"

Shanks peered from around a willow tree, at the bottom of the ledge. "Damn lots of sharp rocks over here." Walking along the ledge, Shanks continued to survey the bottom until he came to a place where there appeared to be less rocks. "It doesn't look much different from the other places, but I suppose it'll do."

Cupping his hands around his mouth, Shanks hollered out to Luffy, "Hey kid, I think I found the pathway!"

Luffy immediately scurried over rather sluggishly, "What? But that's impossible, the ledge practically drops straight down from there!"

"Oh I know, but I found a 'short cut' through that," replied Shanks cheerfully, and before Luffy had time to react, Shanks had scooped him up and leapt outward off the ledge.

"WHA-Aaaaaaaaaa—mmph!" cried Luffy as Shanks sailed off, his black cloak trailing behind him. For a minute Luffy enjoyed the flight, but upon dipping down, he couldn't help but think that they were going to go splat. What was that stupid pirate thinking? Fortunately, his thoughts of death were cut short, as they had ended up landing on one of the smooth, larger rocks. The impact was still there, but it was better than going splat.

"THAT was your shortcut?" stammered Luffy scrambling out of Shanks's arms. He looked like he had swallowed a watermelon and was about to burst.

"Yep," replied Shanks hopping off the rock and dusting the gravel off his hat, "brilliant ain't it?"

"YEH! That was incredible! How did you do that? Can we do it again!" exclaimed Luffy.

Shanks, who was slightly taken aback, tipped his hat back and leaned over, bringing his face close to Luffy's, "Oh, so you wanna know the secret to the art of levitation?"

Luffy nodded eagerly in response.

"Well, first you have to eat a thousand stalks of brocolli!"

Luffy blanched, "Seriously?"

Shanks straightened himself back out and ruffled Luffy's hair, "Nope, I was just kidding about that. I'll teach you sometime after we find your brother and get out of this mess. Now come on, lets look for your brother."

Luffy ran ahead of Shanks, sloshing around the brackish ankle-deep water, across the strait. "Really, you're gonna stay? But I thought pirates were always traveling, or something."

"Oh yeh, of course kid. But I was thinking of stopping somewhere like here for a year or so. We plan to stock up and prepare before me crew and I go to the Grand Line!" After 15 minutes, they were nearly at the end of the land bridge now. However, unbeknownst to them, the water had started to rise a few inches again.

"Do you think it's like any of the stories?" asked Luffy, as both made a right turn onto the bottom of the bank.

"Nah, well unless they were talking about the calm belt, but other than that, it's pretty fun over there. Lots of nice places, kingdoms with real princesses like Alabasta, pleasure islands filled with good food and drink like Jaya, magic islands that only have one season like Drum, and there's even rumored to be some island in the sky. There's lots of different people too, and different pirates." Shanks paused, "Just thinking of the Grand Line reminds me of all those good times. But, it wasn't all fun and games of course…"

Luffy listened rather intently, hanging on every word. He had been sucked into stories before, but this one was real. Inside, he had felt a tingly sensation, as if he himself was actually in Shanks's story: fighting pirates alongside him, drinking with his mates…

"Oof!" Luffy's dream was interrupted, as he tripped over something long and thin.

"Hey there mate, are you all right?" Shanks knelt beside him as Luffy crouched in rising water, inspecting the long thin rod.

"Shanks, this is Ace's fishing pole." Luffy's voice had become void of all cheerfulness now, as he clutched the rod tightly, "Y-you think he got attacked?"

Sensing the anxiety within Luffy's voice, Shanks tried to comfort him by patting him on the head, "Hell, you said you could never beat him in a fight, am I right? So don't worry, I don't think he's…you know. And plus, look on the bright side, there's no body around here."

His words didn't really convince Luffy, but he relaxed nonetheless. "Haha, I guess your right Cap'n, after all, Ace beats me all the time. And I'm good, so there!"

"Exactly, so where are these hiding places you spoke of? You said that he might be sleeping in one of them or something."

"Yeh, come on, most of them are on this side, over the bank." Luffy trekked up some rocks leading up to a path out of the steep bank. "I don't think he's in the secret caverns in the bank, they're pretty muddy at this time of year."

Grabbing stray roots, Luffy climbed bit by bit, Shanks steadying him whenever he slipped or needed a hand. Eventually, they made it to where the trees were, their darkness almost encompassing the two. Luffy looked up at the trees calling for his brother, while Shanks looked behind. The water level had risen more prominently this time, almost covering the sandy land bridge.

"Hey Luffy, any chance of speeding this search up? The water seems to be rising in that strait!" said Shanks rather urgently.

Luffy, upon hearing those words quickly jerked his head toward Shanks his eyes wide with shock, "Oh crap, did you say the water level is rising?"

"Yeh, and the waters are also starting to flow towards the right, into that sea in the horizon. Is it high tide or something?"

"No, it's the yearly flood that sweeps over here. The villagers don't pay attention to it, since it never reaches them. But if Ace's still here, I don't know." Luffy had seemingly become panicky again, although he wasn't trying to show it. "I think he might be in the trees, or at least I hope so. The flood can't get him there."

Shanks himself was trying to keep calm, "And you didn't tell me this, why?"

"Erk, I forgot?" squeaked Luffy.

Sighing, Shanks responded, "Well, lets just find your brother, we'll figure out how to get back later. I'll swim across that damn flood if I have to."

Luffy shook his head, "I don't think that's possible, even for a pirate like you. The water's too fast. Besides the waters won't recede for about a month, see?"

Shanks looked at where Luffy was pointing, his heart sinking. The water in the strait had risen three quarters up the steep bank now and was beginning to flow at incomprehensible speeds. Any chance of going back now was lost. He was about to turn around, but his body refused to do so, as he had felt some eyes watching him from the tall trees.

Luffy scraped his shoes against each other as he stared at Shanks, who was still looking at the flooding strait. The only option now, would be to look for Ace, since they couldn't go back. He had never been in the woods before, so going there to search was out of the question. Walking up to Shanks, Luffy was about to suggest that they stay in the trees tonight, but before he could, Shanks had pushed him down into the dirt in a flash, and leapt up, drawing his sword.

Apparently, the figure in the trees had decided to attack while Shanks was still facing the bank, a fair distance away from Luffy. When he had thought the timing was perfect, the medium sized figure had leapt from the tree with his knife raised, hoping to catch the unsuspecting adult off guard.

But quick as a flash, the adult had turned around, pushing the little boy he was with, down, and crouched over him as he neatly intercepted the attacker from above. Instantly the knife was deftly flicked from his hand by Shanks's sword, but pulling another one from behind his boot, the attacker managed to plant it between the captain's fingers before he was kicked across the dirt floor.

The attacker would have still been skidding across the forest floor, if not for the large tree roots and jagged rocks slowing him down. However, despite the pain, Shanks's attacker had refused to acknowledge defeat, stumbling into a simple fighter's stance, his raised in a protective position in front of his chest.

Shanks gave no thought to the blood dripping from the wound in between his fingers, as he watched the fallen figure rise. His sword was still out, and his hat had been knocked off his head. The assaulter was probably as high as his hip, or so Shanks thought. Still, it seemed like feisty fellow, so Shanks didn't dare leave Luffy who had his face stuck in the ground (from when Shanks pushed him).

"Oh, so you want to play huh?" taunted Shanks shifting his weight around. "Well then, there's more where that kick came from, or would you prefer cold steel?"

He received a snort from the short assailant, "Did my ears hear right, or did a bandit just say he that was gonna stay and fight?"

"Hey punk, I'm no bandit, I'm a pirate. A PIRATE!"

"Whatever, they're all the same, stealing, plundering, cheating, and fighting dirty!"

"Are you stupid? Can't you see that I'm standing here to fight? And kicking your puny ass?"

"Yeh, I'm _sure_ you'd still be here, even if your little companion wasn't hiding in the ground, waiting for his own opportunity."

Shanks looked down at Luffy (who was still trying to dig his head out), his head emitting a sweat drop of embarrassment. "Right, as if Luffy was actually capable of doing something like that." he thought sourly.

"Well, aren't you going to get me?" the voice from the figure yelled, displaying a little impatience.

Shanks was about to respond when he was interrupted with the sounds of a large pop and a person greedily sucking in the air around him. "Guess, Luffy's finally freed himself. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed him too hard." he thought. However he had no time to continue his thoughts, as the shorty had begun to rush forward to attack again.

"Get back Luffy," growled Shanks as he sheathed his sword and placed his left foot back into a long sword stance. "This might get ugly—HEY!"

Luffy much to his surprise, had ignored him, running in front of Shanks and waving his arms. "ACE! ACE! IS THAT YOU!"

"What the—LUFFY!" The rushing figure had suddenly skidded to a halt in hesitation, the moonlight illuminating his features. He was another kid that looked somewhat like Luffy, except he was about two heads taller, had slightly longer hair, and freckles on his nose. Shanks also lowered his sword back into his sash. After all, his opponent had just turned out to be the other kid he was looking for.

"Luffy, why are you here? And whose that crazy bandit!" exclaimed Ace, gesturing to Shanks who had appeared behind Luffy.

"Oh him? He's Shanks, a real pirate captain. Makino hired him to baby-sit (Shanks recoiled at the word) us or something like that. And we're here because we're looking for YOU! And now that we've found you, we don't have anyway to go back because of the floods!"

Ace looked skeptical, "Makino, hire a pirate to baby-sit us? We're not even babies! And how do you he's not some stupid bandit trying to kidnap us! I bet he lured you with meat or candy, didn't he!"

Shanks, having gotten back from retrieving his hat, rolled his eyes, and butt in, "I'm not a baby-sitter! I'm just here to deliver you two safely back to Makino. And if you want proof, here." Handing Ace the paper, he watched as the older child unfolded it.

"Well, I don't know what to say. This is definitely Makino's 'drawing'. Hell, she even makes hangman stick figures look ugly." Ace looked up at Shanks with a sincerity in his childlike face. Clapping his hands to sides, Ace bowed in apology, "Sorry for the trouble Captain sir. The name is Portgas D. Ace. Oh, and thank you for taking care of the monkey for me."

"HEY! I'm NOT a monkey!"

Shanks chuckled, "Well, what's done is done. Besides, at least you guys are both safe. Now all we have to do find our way back to Party's. Oh and your fighting back there Ace, excellent level for someone like you. Almost got caught by your ambush. Now I know where _that monkey_ gets it all."

Ace beamed at remark (while Luffy seethed at being called a monkey), "Haha, and if all pirates fight you, I take back what I said about you guys being like bandits."

Luffy pulled at Ace's shirt, interrupting the conversation. "Ace, Shanks, I don't want to butt in, but what do we do know? The waters are almost reaching us!"

Sure enough, the water level had risen higher, this time splashing slightly over the banks. Ace however, was not worried in the least. "Come on! Into the woods, I know a little bit of the area!"

Luffy and Shanks followed. This time with Ace leading them, the forest seemed almost less eerie in a way.

"Say, you must have known the flood was about to happen, unlike _someone_," Shanks jogged behind Ace, "so how come you were still here?"

"Yeh Ace! Good thing we showed up!" Luffy chirped, running alongside his brother.

Ace frowned, "I'll tell after we get somewhere where the flood can't reach us!"

Clutching his hat, Shanks also grimaced. He had forgotten about the wound between his fingers. It had stopped bleeding awhile back, but the inflammation was still kicking in.

Ace finally stopped after ten minutes of jogging around trees and through rocky paths. They had arrived at a slightly raised clearing in the woods. "The water definitely won't reach here. It used to be some woolanders' campsite or something at the time of the floods."

"Woodlanders? You mean people live here?" asked Shanks as they hiked to the top.

"Yep, most of 'em are stupid bandits. Some of them are okay, a few minimal to be precise," growled Ace, as he plopped himself on a stretch of ground. Judging from his tone, Shanks thought that Ace held a grudge against them.

Luffy sitting next to him however, piped up, "Yeh, we even know some of the kids! They're fun to play games with, if they aren't in a bad mood! Ace always fights with 'em though. Especially this bigger guy, Bory, or Bowy was it?"

Shanks lit a small fire, seating himself across both kids, watching in amusement as Ace planted a fist into the ground. "Bowly, that bastard! He took the treasure!"

Luffy's eyes widened into shock and anger, "No!"

"Yes!" said Ace gritting his teeth, "Bastard took it, while I was fishing or something! I knew I should've switched burying places yesterday!" Ace heaved a sigh and continued, "Anyway, I decided that I would camp out in the trees and search for him the next day. And then you two came along."

"Treasure?" asked Shanks, his face becoming more serious now. To steal a man's treasure, that was rather a blow to a pirate's pride.

"Nothing much, just Grandpa's favorite knife, and his necklace. But mom entrusted them to us and now that I've lost them…I just couldn't go back." Ace scrunched up face trying not to sniffle. The air had become much colder.

"I see, so that's why you were still here." Shanks patted Ace sympathetically, "Aah, don't fret, I would have done the same if I was in your place. Tell you what though, since we're probably gonna be here awhile lets get back your treasure first. Then we'll find a way to contact Makino and my crew and let them know we're here. Savvy?"

"Yeh!" yelled Ace and Luffy. However, the lack of sleep overwhelmed them both, as the kids crumpled in a heap, next to the dwindling fire. Shanks grinned to himself, and spread his black cloak over them. "Those are some kids," he thought, leaning back to stare at the stars. "Hmm…I wonder what Beckman and the guys are doing now. Ben's probably still waiting in the bar, knowing him. Lucky Roo's probably started on his 12th drumstick today. And Yassopp? Hmmm…probably shooting seagulls."

The moon was starting to set now, indicating that it was about four in the morning. But the stars had never looked prettier that night, even if the eerie feeling of the forest had revealed itself again to Shanks. Or was it the forest?


	4. Forest Repose

A/N: Ah yes, now that all the fundamental characters have been introduced, we can now have some fun.

BTW, so sorry for the delay, college applications you know. I'll try harder update every two weeks or so in the future. I'm also trying to make chapters shorter and of readable length.

* * *

Forest Repose 

Picky huddled in a dark corner, as groups of mermen congregated on certain areas of the ship. He had given up all hope of escaping. After all, these mermen were born natural swimmers.

Fear was the only thing that kept him from screaming as random mermen would come and taunt him every five minutes. After Picky had drew Sarlong a shaky, vague map of Fuchsia and its surrounding villages, the giant sawfish merman had laughed and drove him out of the cabin. No merman was permitted to touch him, under Sarlong's orders, so they resorted to other forms of torture instead.

In truth, Sarlong had only spared Picky to confirm whether the maps were correct, for if they weren't, the consequences would be dire.

As Picky hauled himself to the side of the ship, the cabin door banged open. Sarlong emerged, along with Picky's three merman captors. All hands on deck ceased, to face their captain. Sarlong took a few heavy steps until he was near the middle of the ship. Everyone, even Picky, stared intently at him.

"SO, WHO WANTS TO HAVE FUN! HAH!" he boomed in his scratchy voice.

Cheers were roared back in response as mermen rose their fists in the air, "YARRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

Picky cringed as Sarlong continued his speech. He had a pretty good idea of what the mermen were planning to do now.

"EVERYONE, HAH! WELL GOOD, BECAUSE THERE'LL BE PLENTY OF 'FUN' ONCE WE LAUNCH OUR ATTACK ON THOSE SLIMY HUMANS! AND AFTER WE ENSLAVE ALL OF THEM, AND BUILD OUR KINGDOM, WE'LL BE _SURE_ TO GIVE MY FOOLISH YOUNGER BROTHER A WARM WELCOME!"

More cheers ensued, as Sarlong clacked his teeth together. "YES, THAT TRAITOR ARLONG, JOINING UP WITH JINBEI! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE HIM!"

The cries were so loud, coming from the three galleons were so loud, that Picky could have sworn he heard the cavern shake. Picky tried to block his ears from Sarlong's speech, but even though he couldn't hear the words, he couldn't block Sarlong's voice either. And the fact that he had a brother was just plain scary.

As the commotion of the mermen died down, Sarlong said his last bit. "TOMORROW! WE WILL TAKE TWO GALLEONS AND ATTACK BEFORE THE SUN RISES! FUU AND HER CREW WILL STAY HERE AND GUARD THE CAVERN! BUT DON'T WORRY MY DEAR, WE'LL LEAVE SOME FOR YOU AND YOUR CREW! RIGHT MATES!"

"YARRRRR!" replied all the mermen. Fuu, who was standing next to Kuromaru puckered up her lips in response, as well the female portion of her crew, who also mimicked her.

"GOOD! NOW EVERYONE! BACK TO YOUR STATIONS!"

Picky, looked on in fear and dismay, as the mermen hordes scattered, and started to prepare the ships for sail. Kuromaru was whispering something to Sarlong and pointing at him. Flinching, Picky looked away, but Sarlong's heavy footsteps indicated to him, that he was coming.

Twisting Picky's face as to look at him, Sarlong smiled his sinister, toothy smile, hissing, "As for you, slimy human, you'll be coming with us. So do the crew a favor and don't wet yourself."

Releasing his iron grip on Picky's face, Sarlong, Kuromaru, Tatchi, and Fuu trudged back to the cabin. Picky closed his eyes, and sunk back down in a near fetal position. Between facing the red haired pirate again, and this, he'd sooner face the red hair any day.

* * *

Shanks abruptly sat up. He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but with the combined effects of alcohol and the mini adventure with Luffy, he did. But fortunately enough, they hadn't been attacked, while sleeping which was a plus.

Briefly glancing around, Shanks noticed that Ace and Luffy were still asleep, with the cloak wrapped around their small torsos. It was actually quite a humorous site since Ace had shifted his leg on top of Luffy's head. Luffy on the other hand, snored with his mouth wide open, whilst Ace's leg was over him.

Turning his attention elsewhere, Shanks surveyed the bottom of the hill on his left and right sides. It looked rather semi marshy and watery. "Probably from the flood," he pondered aloud. "But at least its dry on the other side."

However, the dry side that Shanks had depicted was encased by a multitude of dark trees, which particularly worried him. In their hurry to escape the flood, Ace had led them rather deep into the forest. And soon, they would be going deeper in order to retrieve Ace's treasure.

"Oww, stupid brother!" Nearby, Luffy had woken up, after Ace had kicked him in the head with his other leg. Ace merely responded by rolling over to the other side, his sleep still undisturbed.

"It's about time you brats got up," said Shanks walking back toward the ashes of the fire. "We better start moving. The sooner we get your treasure, the sooner we can try to find a way back to Party's."

Luffy, who was still treating this excursion as a game, grinned. He was beginning to love this adventure. "ACE GET UP! WE'RE GOING TO LOOK FOR THE TREASURE!"

Shanks hit Luffy in the head. "Idiot!" he hissed, "Don't shout! What if you attract something bad!"

Luffy rubbed his head and sorely shot back, "Oh, so you're afraid of the forest!"

Shanks rolled his eyes, "Not afraid enough to call for 'mommie' in my sleep, unlike someone…"

"Oh that was probably me." a voice said, behind the two. Apparently, Ace had been waken up by Luffy's shouting. An awkward silence followed as Shanks tried to stifle his laughter.

After the ashes of the fire were scattered, the three set off silently towards the dark forest with Ace in the lead. Their pace was slower than that of yesterday, seeing as there was no flood to wash them away. The chirp of the birds did not recede, as the trio entered, a good sign to Shanks. But being the sort of guy he is on a foreign land, away from the ocean, he had to confirm his doubts with Ace and Luffy, who were somewhat familiar with the land.

"Hey Ace, have you been this deep in the forest before," asked Shanks in a skeptical manner.

"Hmm…I can't say I have. I'm just following what some of the woodlanders said." Ace replied, sending Shanks back into his cautious state again.

"But what if they set up traps or something?" piped up Luffy. After all, he had never been in the forest before either.

Ace, who was still huffy from the incident of the stolen treasure, cockily responded, "Woodlanders don't setup traps. They're so stupid that they forget where they put them, and then end up getting caught by them. Besides, they're always by some river. Can't live without water you know."

Knowing that it was too late to go back now (and cursing his lack of navigation skills), Shanks gave up on the prospect of returning to Party's very soon. Instead, his mind wandered to how the rest of his crew was doing. They were probably still asleep from the drinking and partying. Speaking of drinking, Shanks thought he could use a few bottles of rum about now.

The hiking pace fluctuated, as Luffy and Ace refused to be carried by Shanks, whenever they felt fatigued. As the three ventured deeper, the trees appeared more larger and older. The numbers of rocks and boulders also increased, slowing them down occasionally.

Countless hours passed, before all three of them heard the sound of the river. It was a relieving sound, and provided Ace hope that he'll get back the treasure soon. By this time, the sun had begun to nudge its rays through the lower cracks of trees and mountainsides.

As they trudged toward the sound, Shanks felt a jolt of pain in his hand. Apparently, the knife stab from Ace hadn't healed properly. He had bound the wound with a simple poultice comprised of random vegetation, but that only seemed to stop the pain for short intervals.

Eventually the three emerged from the woods, arriving in front of the small river. Along the other side of the bank were more trees, though not like the dark ones Shanks saw before. The current was fast in the river, weaving its way around a large log that served as a makeshift bridge.

"Oi, don't go too far, you two! If it's like you said, the woodlanders are probably lurking near here!" Shanks called after the children, who had rushed ahead of him.

Ace and Luffy wandered near the river's edge to look for something edible in shallow areas, while Shanks poked around the trees for traces of small plants he could freshen his poultice with.

Having little success, Shanks decided to sit at the base of the tree that served as the bridge, shouldering his sword in ronin fashion. Unlike before, the chirping of the birds had stopped but the noise of the river did not cease.

"ACE! LOOK HERE, I found some fish!" cried Luffy, waving some dangly things in the air, which were presumed to be "the fish."

Shanks and Ace's heads immediately snapped up in alarm. "Quiet! You idiot!" they hissed at Luffy in unison. Luffy froze, the current streaming around his legs.

The trio stared at the other side of the riverbank. It seems that Luffy's shout had attracted the woodlanders, comprised mostly of middle aged males. Most had on an arrogant smirk and carried bo staffs. Some had projectile weapons and swords, but being warriors themselves, Shanks, Ace and Luffy weren't afraid of any of them.

Shanks sighed to himself as he blocked out the ruckus the woodlanders made in their chatter, "Well, we have to face them sooner or later."

Heaving himself from the base of the tree, Shanks stepped gingerly on to the log bridge. On the other side, their supposed leader did the same. He was a rough looking man, carrying a bo staff, probably 10 years older than Shanks. The man looked and dressed as what townspeople would call a true rogue.

On the banks, Ace and Luffy silently glared their hardest at the woodlanders across the river, but they were mainly ignored as the wood villagers talked and joked amongst themselves while keeping an eye on the bridge.

The gruff man on the bridge smirked, "Hey, aren't you gonna pay the toll for crossing!"

"Toll?" Shanks asked, scratching his head.

"Yeh, gotta make a living ya know. Well I suppose, that sword you're carrying will do, if you don't have anything."

"Oh you mean this flimsy thing? You can have it, after you tell us where the nearest town is, and give back my friend's treasure." Shanks replied nonchalantly, gesturing to Ace.

The wood villagers on the other side of the bank sniggered.

"What's so funny?"

The man grinned slyly. "It's not my place to harm an unarmed man you know."

Before Shanks could reply, a whip snaked out of nowhere coiling around Shanks's sword. Of course Shanks secretly wasn't surprised.

"Ok, so you have the sword. So can we go now?" asked Shanks looking bored.

The crowd, instantly turned nasty. Apparently, they had expected a fight or something between the two men on the bridge.

Finally the gruff man responded greedily, "Hm…unfortunately the villagers don't think this is enough to compensate."

"Oh, what else do you need?"

"Oh, I don't know, if you have nothing, you'd best turn back. Unless you can force your way through me of course, but I highly doubt that'll happen."

Shanks stood his ground smirking, "If it's a fight you want, I guess I can't avoid it forever. But you wouldn't hurt an unarmed man would you?"

On cue, one of the villagers flung something at him. Shanks reached out his with his right hand, catching the object. Apparently it was a bo.

"Heh, brace yourself rich boy, or you're gonna get beat. We woodlanders are best with the bo's." grunted the man, raising his staff.

Everyone on the side was excited now, judging by the volume of the voices. "HEY SHANKS! IF YOU DON'T BEAT THIS BASTARD, I'LL KILL YOU!" shouted Luffy. Ace had fallen asleep at this point.

Shanks gripped the long bo loosely in his right hand. His hand was starting to pain him again. "Damn," he thought, "Its been a long time, since I've touched a bo. Only Nettles uses one nowadays."

"Well, what are you waiting for!" the gruff woodlander said charging at him. Shanks had barely managed to step aside.

"Oh crap, this is not going to go well." Shanks thought as he blocked the second strike from the woodlander's bo. "If only this damn bo didn't take up enough space."

Luffy and Ace looked on vigilantly as if they were trying to study the moves. Shanks struggled barely blocking the blows with the bo in his injured hand. Strike after strike rained on him, from the woodlander. His blows were mediocre for a man his size, but still, it caused Shanks's hand to grow more sore and painful.

However, moments later, the gruff man sent an unusually strong blow knocking Shanks a couple meters across the log.

"Ughh" Shanks groaned. Looks like he was a little more rusty than he thought. But nevertheless, he stood up, spitting out the blood from his mouth. Looking all around him, Shanks briefly glanced at the villagers. They seemed to happy that he was getting beaten but that was no surprise. However, seeing one man carrying two swords gave him an idea.

"Heh, had enough?" asked the man sarcastically, leaning on his bo.

"You wish, bandit!" yelled Shanks. With that, he snapped the bo clean in two across his knee. Now he had two sword sized sticks in his hand.

"GET HIM SHANKS!" yelled Ace and Luffy enthusiastically. This time, it was Shanks's turn. Sure, he hadn't had much experience in double swords techniques, but it was definitely more advantageous than the bo, as he could attack and block simultaneously now.

Swishing the makeshift swords in a light, walking stance, Shanks tested their weight in each hand. The woodlander smirked. "So, you split the stick in two, so what? Like that'll help you now! Now, SUFFER FOR NOT PAYING THE TOLL!"

Charging forward, in his predictable manner, the burly man rushed to attack Shanks. However, with lighter sticks, Shanks had the upper hand in control, even if he had an injured hand.

As the woodlander bo was about to reach him, Shanks thrust himself forward, pushing the man back with an x-block, and throwing him off balance. It was then, that Shanks began his counterattack, returning strikes in circular motions (think star wars light saber fights) and ending with a jab to the man's middle.

Rather than being hit, the man chose to jerk backward, allowing himself to fall off the log and into the river. However, while falling he had managed to flail out his bo in such a way between Shanks's feet that the pirate captain came tumbling down soon after him.

At first Shanks was dubious, but as he hit the water he felt surge of confidence go through him. After all, he was a pirate, and pirates live on water. Resurfacing after he had been knocked down, Shanks carefully began to scout around quickly for his enemy.

By this time, all of the villagers lined near the banks began to shuffle around and look nervous. But that didn't stop Shanks from his search.

Shanks was about to dive under again, when his ears were serenaded by watery screams of "HELGHGHGHP!" and "SSBAVE ME!" further downstream some distance away from the bridge.

Diving under Shanks immediately swam to the source of the voice. When he emerged, he was greeted with the image of the rough woodlander, only the man wasn't really rough looking anymore, but strangely comical, spewing out water while screaming and flailing his arms around like a cat. Shanks grinned gleefully with malice, drinking in the screams, _apparently, this man couldn't swim_.

Swimming over the flailing man, Shanks neatly cuffed his arms behind him and dunked the poor man under. By this time, the villagers had shifted to downstream banks. Ace and Luffy were now cheering while the villagers were in confusion. What should they do, now that their leader was at the mercy of a red haired pirate?

Dragging the woodlander to the surface, Shanks grabbed hem of the man's shirt. "Do you surrender?" he asked almost in a sarcastic voice. When didn't get an answer (for the man was too busy coughing up water), Shanks dunked him under again as a warning.

After waiting for 20 or so seconds, the man was pulled up again by Shanks with his devilish grin. "Oh and by the way," Shanks added, "You are to return whatever belongs to Ace, is that clear? Or do you need some more time to think? Well by all means, take your time, the river isn't going to dry any time soon."

Just as Shanks was about to pull the woodlander under again, he let out a loud, piteous yell, "ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT! I GIVE UP! I'LL GIVE YOUR FRIEND HIS THINGS BACK! JUST HELP ME! I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SWIM!"

Satisfied, Shanks loosened his grip, only to cause the man, to cling on him more tightly, in a suffocating embrace, almost.

"Gah! Get off me you smelly bandit!"

"B-b-but I can't swim! I'll drown!"

"Idiot, just place your feet on the ground, it isn't even that deep!"

Following Shanks's advice, the man found much to his amazement, that the water only reached his neck height. How embarrassing. But anyway, with the aid of Shanks, the woodlander was able to eventually wade to the river bank where of villagers waited to pull them both out.

"Oi! Shanks! That was nice!" cried Luffy running across the tree bridge.

However, there wasn't time for more chatter, as the group of villagers had now parted to let someone through. A semi large woman in her mid forties wearing a thick dress and cloak decorated in furs stepped up to the soggy warriors.

The hefty woman promptly raised the frying pan she was carrying, and brought it down over the gruff man's head, gesturing to Shanks, Ace and Luffy. "Tyr You Idiot! Don't you see he doesn't mean anyone harm? For the Grand Line's sake, he has pups with him!" (Cue the part where Luffy and Ace make big puppy eyes at the woman.)

"Aww…but sister." Tyr whimpered, rubbing his head, he tried to kill me!

The woman rolled her eyes. "Well then, maybe you shouldn't have enforced that stupid toll rule on him!"

Tyr began treating the lump on his head silently, when the large woman turned to Shanks

"As for you…"


End file.
